A Formula for Easy Lunchbox Packing

I’m really intrigued by this suggestion, and by Jenny’s mention of nut butters in the article, because in the UK, every single school or childcare setting that I know is nut free because of allergies!!

No nuts of any kind here in Canada either. It’s a big part of our diet otherwise but for school nuts and especially PB is a big no-no. Is it common in US schools to allow it? What do the allergic kids do? It’s so sticky, I usually have my kids wash their hands twice in the morning if they have PB for breakfast because they never do a good enough job the first time!

My children go to small private schools in the US in TN. My daughter’s school is nut-free and my son’s is classroom-specific depending on student allergies. They eat in classrooms. Both seem to work well.

We use sun butter, which is fine for nut allergies as it’s sunflower seeds. It’s a tad bitter, but great with honey or jelly. My youngest has always had this and really hates peanut butter now!

I can still taste frozen Roman Meal “wheat” bread with Hellmans mayo, ham and cheddar. As gross as it sounds, it’s nostalgia, and I’d probably weep just to eat one.

omg Genevieve, that’s hysterical, thanks for the chuckle!

Same in Germany! I always got one or two sandwiches and half an apple. When my mom felt fancy, I sometimes got a joghurt haha. Really curious to see whether kids eat differently now or still bring their sandwiches to the yard.

I have a mostly vegan toddler, and a hit with her is smoked tofu. I do a snack box style lunch for her including crackers or a muffin, slices of smoked tofu for protein, and berries or sliced fruit and veg. Add a purée pack on the side (one with a vegetable or grain usually) and hope for the best.

Hi Taryn, if you search tahini-free hummus, you’ll come up with some options.

I feel your pain. My kids are at preschool and this year their lunches need to be kosher friendly, and nut and seed free (in this case the specific seeds and sesame and sunflower). And they don’t eat recognizable beans. We have a book “spilling the beans” that includes a bunch of baked goods with beans inside, but we are going to be leaning a lot on dairy protein this year.

I am not a morning person so I needed easy food to make. My picky pants kid loved these two very different lunch items: 1) Cubed tofu with soy sauce and furikake (w no sesame seeds) if your kid likes it. I checked the tofu box in my fridge and it had a circle U symbol on the label. Throw in a toothpick or a cute appetizer fork 2) Seasoned rice balls handheld with a piece of nori were such a big hit that she started selling them to her friends. (The night before I’d cook sushi or short grain rice and season it with soy sauce, salt, rice wine vinegar…whatever your kid likes, possibly plain or with butter! When they were cool, I’d form into balls with wet hands. (if you make them the night before, do not refrigerate) Throw some seaweed snacks in a bag to wrap at lunch and done.

My kids love rice and seaweed! We throw the rice in a thermos (can add a little soy sauce for more flavor) and then the seaweed on the side along with sliced cucumber or avo. They make their own sushi wraps.

We also do pasta a lot. I make a box at the beginning of the week and serve in a thermos with sauce or parm cheese or whatever they like. Godspeed!

My mother-in-law makes hummus with no tahini. (It has extra olive oil to make up for the lost richness.) And it’s DELICIOUS. Maybe you could try this?

The Frugalwoods make hummus without tahini because it’s less expensive. No rules in hummus : )

I’ve been in same boat for a few years now and I’m sticking to cream cheese and jelly sandwiches! Easy and checks all the boxes. I try to add in egg/banana pancakes, cheese slices, or yogurt for protein or just load up my kids with a big breakfast to keep them full.

I just make hummus without tahini I don’t like it but kids won’t know the difference.

Our son’s preschool had the same constraints. A big go-to for me was to make a grilled cheese sandwich with just a bit of chopped greens mixed in with the cheese. Even made the night before, they’re still tasty the next day and are very easy for little kids to eat (they don’t fall apart!). Also made pesto pasta subbing pepitas for the nuts.

Not all schools provide lunch

Great article. Loved this quote:

Instagram, Pinterest, and the rise of the momfluencer has turned school-lunch packing into a cross between competitive sport and creative self-care practice. We’re flooded with images of $60 PlanetBoxes and $42 OmieBoxes, rainbow produce cut into stars and hearts, and the message that all of this is a valid measure of our mothering.

this is so interesting!!! thanks for sharing

That Virginia Sole-Smith piece is so infuriating I can’t even see straight. Essentially parents who care about what their kids eat are supposed to downgrade to the rubbish school lunch in order to make everyone feel better about themselves? I’m not speaking for all school districts, but most school food programs are comfortably in bed with Big Ag and kids shouldn’t be obligated to eat horrific food grown and raised in horrific conditions by workers who are mistreated and abused. Privilege exists, obviously, but that deeply misguided slope is slippery as hell.

Yes, Elizabeth! Thank you!
You don’t have to speak down to school lunches to still want to provide lunch for your child’s.
And why is It okay to speak down to those parents who take joy in making them?
It’s no parents responsibly to accept less or do less for their child because of another’s circumstances.
I wish there was more “good for you not for me” mentality in parenting rather than bashing parents who do things because others can’t or don’t want to.

I love this, too, with some complaints. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with caring about quality, but there is something off putting about trying to curate certain aspects of your kid’s life. Our school district (NYC) offers free lunches for all, and I love that! My daughter tries foods that I’ve never made, like buckwheat meatballs, but most often defaults to the same pbj sandwiches that I’d be making her. Except I get to save time and money, and she gets to participate in her little first grade independent exercise of picking her meal on her own, etc. We have breakfasts and dinners to determine at home.

I’d LOVE to give my kids school lunch but we don’t have the option. So it goes. I find the bento style lunch box easiest to pack, less waste and cleaning after. We use a Yumbox. Yes it’s expensive but not in comparison to buying lunch for a week much less 6 years which is how long it’s lasted so far. It’s not a competition – just everyone trying to get through the days doing their best.

this is amazing!

Tell us more! I love this.

This year my 7 year old, 2nd grader, daughter started making her own lunch with my guidance and it’s been wonderful. She know she has to have a main (sandwich, snacky-lunch, pasta salad, hard-boiled eggs or leftover protein), a vegetable and a fruit. She knows which snack to choose from for her lunch. I only pack her breakfast (6:30 bus means she eats at breakfast at school) and her afternoon snack. We also realized we needed to up the quantity because she was also buying lunch at school and basically eating two lunches (we found out because unbeknownst to her as lunch was free from kindergarten, until now due to the pandemic, she was being charged 2.15 everyday).
Having their buy-in as to what they get to eat within parameters is such a great way to teach responsible decision-making, independence and they generally like what they pack.

I love this idea. It gives them a chance to choose and teaches independence. My children’s school does not have a cafeteria or kitchen (I really would not have moved to the district if I knew this ahead of time :)). I dread packing lunch, but this post is going to help me reframe this as an opportunity for them to learn to take care of themselves. :)

Me too, I am so glad I don’t have that additional responsability and my kids get to eat a warm meal. It gets really cold here in the winter and I really appreciate them having soup and a warm main.

Omygosh Marnie, can I have this nut free granola bar recipe?

We make this one weekly and it’s very popular here … can be frozen too… https://www.myfussyeater.com/nut-free-granola-bars/

Maybe some gluten free pasta? I’m a fan of the chickpea variety, you can’t really tell the difference once the sauce is on imho. Rotini in red sauce is a fave with my 4-year-old, he’ll happily eat it cold. My son goes to a Mexican preschool. I’d say probably half the kids have bean and cheese tacos for lunch on any given day, often including my kid. Many corn tortillas are gluten free and only contains 3-4 ingredients. Hope maybe those ideas help?

wow this is exactly what I’ve been looking for – thanks Seppie!!

This is roughly what we do! I feel like it gives him a happy moment in the middle of his day – tasty lunch that he looks forward to!

It reminds me of one of my favorite books https://karenlebillon.com/french-kids-eat-everything/ Great fun read and some recipes from a Canadian mom visiting in laws in France. Her children went to local school there. It was more of an adjustment for parents than for children. I still remember my surprise learning what is served to French babies as first solid food.

I grew up in France, but struggled with school lunches when I stopped eating meat (maybe things have changed since then?). I remember eating a lot of plain green beans with bread and cheese on the side.

My primary school did not offer lunches (parents opposed the provision due to the cost), so parents would send their kids to school with hot lunches that could be microwaved.

Also a teacher, and MAN, I feel like nobody tells you you’re going to become the most dehydrated version of yourself imaginable! It’s just not possible to get enough fluids and electrolytes in while also doing this job.

My kid just started kinder and doing school lunches, but he’s always needed to be topped off with snacks. I’m sending snacks with this same theory: fat, fruit, veg, carb and a treat (either dried fish/beef jerky or dried mango).

I like to send him with cut veggies with hopes he’ll one day eat them. Every week he says at the grocery counter “come ooonnn, gross mom” and on cue the grocer says “I had to eat carrots every day as a kid”. The secret communication between me and the grocers is now my favorite form of subversive parenting.

The combo though- works perfect. The fruit and carb/protein/fat combo makes him not hangry and able to hold out till dinner.

Ate*** I ate hot lunch and loved it.

Juice box as an ice pack — great tip!

My go-to snack mid-afternoon at work is an avocado- I split it in half, sprinkle it with a little salt, and eat it with a spoon. It tastes delicious, the healthy fat keeps me full until I can get home, my skin looks great, and my cholesterol numbers have never been better. I also keep a package of dried figs on hand in case I am craving something sweet.

Two servings of high protein yogurt (like, 15g per serving) and something fibrous and full of water (melon, citrus, cucumber). And then 4pm emergency cheese to stave off the hungries until you can get home.

Oh, and just for regular ideas for lunch: I do a lot of dinner leftovers over salad greens (doesn’t really matter what the dinner was, anything can go over a good salad), or homemade soup (carrot ginger soup is my favorite), or I will sometimes make up a good egg dish that can be heated up throughout the week (this recipe for a Cuban picadillo fritatta dish is AMAZING, though I usually make it with chicken and also substitute coconut milk for dairy: https://thecastawaykitchen.com/cuban-picadillo-frittata-whole30-paleo-low-carb/).

I also really love this salmon and leek paté that I usually eat with cucumber slices, or put on top of a salad: https://healingfamilyeats.com/quick-salmon-and-leek-pate-aip/?fbclid=IwAR3klpfCt-ua2PoLUL8hQG8p75IqGK2usvyFWN9KJtfw0ngOtKpe_TvXLFA

Hi Jojo! I take lunch every day and I have 4 general options:
1) 2 hardboiled eggs or chicken over a bagged salad (a bagged salad will make 2-3 lunches!)
2) lentils and sautéed veggies with feta and red pepper flakes
3) leftovers (if there are any, rare in my house!)
4) a snacky lunch, as my kids call it! An egg or two, hummus and veggies, a yogurt, cheese, whatever I can find.

I eat a lot so these lunches have worked well for me to stay full! I also have an afternoon snack (usually a chomp stick and fruit or Lara bar). It really helps my daily morale to have a lunch I’m looking forward to, hope that helps a bit!

When I’m “on it” I do 1-2 “fridge salads” that can be scooped on a bed of leaves all week long, and then if I need extra protein I can add in leftovers to top me off. The fringe salads keep all week so are little effort. I tried doing “bowls” but there are too many ingredients and I never get around to making them. This works for me. My new trick/addition is “fridge salad” on bottom, greens on top, no dressing. The greens don’t wilt and the sauce is enough dressing for the whole dish. I just mix it up when it’s time to eat.

Examples of fridge salads are:

-Garbanzos and celery salad in tart sherry vinaigrette
-tabbouleh
-kale and apple salad
-cabbage slaw (this one needs meat or beans or else you’ll be too hungry)
-bean salad
-tomato and cukes with Mexican or Arab herbs
-herby potato salad